Ricardo Mayorga wins majority decision over Fernando Vargas

[broncofan]

AP Newswire:

Ricardo Mayorga wins majority decision over Fernando Vargas

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer
November 24, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The venom that spewed between Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas leading up to their meeting in the ring was far beyond the normal pre-fight verbal sparring.

That made the events of the post-fight news conference surprising.

Mayorga scored a majority 12-round decision over Vargas on Friday night, winning on the strength of knockdowns in the first and 11th rounds.

Then, after issuing a public apology to Vargas for disrespecting his wife and mother in the months leading up to the bout, Mayorga walked over to his opponent on the dais and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Really.

While Vargas said he thought he had won the bout, he had nothing but kind words for Mayorga as well.

And, as he had promised beforehand, Vargas retired from the ring.

"He beat me," Vargas said. "Luckily, I don't live just for boxing, I have other things that I'm doing. This will be my last fight. I thank all my fans for all they've done for me, from the bottom of the my heart. Luckily, I have a phase 2, and 3.

"I felt like I had the fight, to take nothing away from Ricardo Mayorga. Congratulations to him."

Judge Max DeLuca had Mayorga winning 115-111; Glenn Trowbridge had it 114-112 for Mayorga, and David Mendoza scored it 113-113. The Associated Press had it 114-112 for Mayorga.

The former world champions exchanged punches in the middle of the ring through most of the bout, with Vargas growing stronger in the later rounds. But it wasn't enough because of the knockdowns.

"Those were flash knockdowns," Vargas said, not that it mattered.

Mayorga began celebrating midway through the final round, thrusting his right fist into the air during brief lulls in the action.

There weren't many of those.

As the 12th round ended, both fighters celebrated as if they won.

But only one would win, and that was Mayorga.

"Vargas came out with a different style than I anticipated," Mayorga said through a translator. "I adjusted well and was able to land heavy punches. Vargas was faster than I thought, but I stuck with my game plan and put the pressure on him."

Both fighters weighed 164 pounds at Thursday's weigh-in -- a startling development for Vargas considering he admittedly ballooned to 264 following his second loss to Shane Mosley.

Mayorga said he wanted to keep fighting and drop to 147 pounds, with Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather his preferred opponents.

"You saw the fight," Mayorga said. "I have a lot of fight left in me."

Mayorga, a 34-year-old three-time world champion from Managua, Nicaragua, raised his record to 28-6-1 with 22 knockouts. Vargas, a two-time world champion from nearby Oxnard who turns 30 on Dec. 7, finishes his career with a 26-5 record and 22 knockouts.

The bout matched a pair of once-prominent fighters who both entered having been idle for more than 15 months and each had lost two of their previous three fights.

Vargas hadn't fought since July 15, 2006, when he was stopped for the second time in five months by Mosley. Mayorga last fought May 6, 2006, when he was stopped by Oscar De La Hoya.

The WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title was at stake. The bout had been scheduled for Sept. 8, but was delayed after a routine blood test revealed Vargas had an iron deficiency.

The crowd of 10,365 at Staples Center was almost completely pro-Vargas -- no surprise considering Oxnard is about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Wearing a camouflage robe and trunks, Mayorga was roundly booed as he entered the ring. Vargas, wearing a sombrero, followed to a loud ovation. But once he disrobed, Vargas appeared a little soft around the middle, no doubt a lot heavier than the 164 pounds he weighed a day earlier.

Mayorga went right after Vargas in the first round, throwing a flurry of punches. The crowd began a chant of "Vargas, Vargas," and their man promptly threw a low blow that drew a warning from referee Raul Caiz Sr.

Then, late in the round, Mayorga attacked again, and floored Vargas with a left hand, celebrating before his opponent quickly got to his feet.

Mayorga continued to force the action, and appeared to hurt Vargas early in the third round, opening a cut over his left eye. But much to the crowd's delight, Vargas fought back, and did some damage later in the round.

Mayorga said he didn't believe the bout would go beyond three rounds, and Vargas had said six.

They were both wrong.

Mayorga threw a couple of punches after the bell sounded ending the eighth round, and made a gesture of apology before the ninth, which Vargas acknowledged.

The two fought on even terms in the 11th until Mayorga floored Vargas with a right hand in the final seconds.

Vargas' manager, Joe Percora, said his fighter could earn up to $15 million, depending on the number of pay-per-view subscribers. Mayorga is expected to be paid about half of what Vargas gets.